If you run a customer-focused website, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that you need to be posting updates to Twitter and Facebook during off-peak times, i.e.
- first thing in the morning (before 9am)
- evenings (after 5pm)
- weekends
See this infographic from Dan Zarrella for a handy summary http://danzarrella.com/infographic-how-to-use-contra-competitive-timing-for-more-retweets-likes-comments-and-clicks.html
I’ve been doing this a lot more through my smartphone in recent weeks (i.e. on the bus/metro into work or occasional updates whilst watching TV at the weekend) and it does seem to be paying off with a higher number of referrals, shares and Retweets.
Sadly, this means that the normal 9-5 rules no longer apply. Really, a website is a 24hr operation so in an ideal world you should have a team of people working shifts throughout the day/night. Either that, or you consider changing your working hours accordingly.
Interesting. That said, it doesn’t mean you have to do it real time: there are a number of (admittedly paid) tools that let you schedule social media updates ….
Thanks Vicky. Yes, there are some good tools out there but personally I’m not a fan of auto-Tweets. I don’t think I’ve ever followed a link in one sent after Following someone. Some stories of companies getting it completely wrong too, sending out happy, positive Tweets first thing on a Monday morning when their service was down and customers feeling really angry.